The mediating role of depression in the association between perceived financial wellbeing and somatization: a study in the context of Lebanon’s financial crisis

ABSTRACT

The objectives of this study were to examine the association between financial wellbeing and somatization, in addition to the mediating effect of anxiety, depression and stress. To test such hypotheses, a cross-sectional study was carried out between September and October 2021; 403 participants (264 females; age = 32.76 ± 13.24 years) were recruited. Depression mediated the association between financial wellbeing and somatization. A worse financial wellbeing was significantly associated with more depression, which was associated with more somatization. Moreover, a worse financial wellbeing was significantly and directly associated with more somatization. Our study adds to the narrow body of research revolving around the relationship between financial wellbeing and somatization in Lebanese adults. Understanding that the effects of, depression are aggravated in a country such as Lebanon would help establish more preventative guidelines and mental health awareness campaigns. Identifying the correlates of somatization can also be translated into improved interventions.

KEYWORDS:

• Financial wellbeing
• somatization
• anxiety
• stress
• depression

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank all participants.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Availability of data and materials

The database is not publicly available following the rules of the ethics committee; however, it is available upon a logical request from the corresponding author (SH).

Authors’ contributions

AN, SH and GH conceived and designed the survey. SH was involved in the statistical analysis and data interpretation. AN wrote the manuscript and involved in the data collection. SM helped with the writing and reviewed the manuscript along with SO. All authors read the manuscript, critically revised it for intellectual content, and approved the final version.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study was approved by the Ethics Committee at the Psychiatric Hospital of the Cross (HPC-040-2021). All participants gave their informed written consent when submitting the online form. All methods were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations.

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.